University of Virginia fourth-year student Huma Khalid, an aspiring legal scholar, is walking proof that a relatively small monetary investment can have big returns.
Last fall, thanks to $500 from UVA’s Cavalier Fund, the history and global security and justice major visited Harvard Law School, Boston College Law School and Boston University School of Law to see what’s possible after she walks the Lawn in May.
“Being able to see the schools and immerse yourself in that experience was really helpful, and it really motivated me,” she said. “I remember on the train afterward; I was so motivated. I’m like, ‘I’m gonna go to law school.’”
Luna Makele and Huma Khalid visit Boston College Law School in October 2025, left, and Khalid poses with friends at Harvard Law School, center. Khalid also used Cavalier Fund grants to learn to ski and join the Virginia Alpine Ski and Snowboard Team, right. “Using the Cav Fund for the team was just as important as me using it for a law school trip. These extracurricular experiences … they’re just as enriching for my experience at UVA.”
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The University launched the Cavalier Fund in 2022 to ensure all UVA students have access to similar educational experiences, regardless of financial resources.
Khalid’s fellow fourth-year student, Brett Barton, needed some financial support to travel to Mexico in January with the Virginia Gentlemen, UVA’s oldest a capella group. In his third year, while helping arrange the group’s international trips, the group’s business manager told members the Cavalier Fund could offer need-based help of up to $1,000, so he applied. Several other members did, too.
“Without the Cav Fund, I couldn’t have joined the VGs in San Miguel de Allende,” he said. “Five days of concerts and cultural exchange, including singing for kids of all ages at a local school, gave me a new appreciation for what our music can do beyond Grounds.
“It kind of was surreal to go in front of these kids, perform like we’ve always performed, and then afterward be swarmed by these kids, asking for our autographs and saying they want to come to UVA when they grow up, and saying they want to be a VG when they grow up,” he said. “It was unreal for me to take a step out of my body and be like, ‘This is the equivalent of who I idolized as a kid.’”
Since its founding, the Cavalier Fund, supported by alumni and friends, has distributed more than 1,500 awards to help students pay for preprofessional activities, club memberships, outdoor activities with UVA Rec and travel and accommodations for attending events such as symphonies, hackathons and TEDx gatherings.
